Top news
Investing in the public benefit OfficialAnthropic NewsOct 18Popular Musk Pledges SpaceX Shares to ‘Every Kid in America’ WebBloomberg TechnologyOct 19Popular Websites are closing their doors to AI agents WebThe Verge AIOct 17 This is the new ChatGPT Voice, powered by GPT Live OfficialOpenAI on YouTubeOct 18 How AI giants will reshape global philanthropy WebAxios AIOct 19 Gemini 4 Argon Really Surprised Me WebTwo Minute PapersOct 19 Google Gemini 4 agents just beat Minecraft with no human intervention WebEngadget AIOct 19 Who could it be? 🧐 OfficialGoogle on YouTubeOct 18 Anthropic gives outside AI watchdog “employee-like” access WebArs Technica AIOct 18 What are self-replicating ‘AI worms’, and why is Anthropic worried about them? WebThe Guardian AIOct 18
GlossaryModelsNew to AI

AI

Also written: AI systems, AI bias, AI Wearables, AI-powered, AI enabled, AI development, Machine bias, Cooperative AI

Artificial Intelligence: Computer systems performing tasks that typically require human intelligence, like learning, problem-solving, and creation.

In plain terms

Artificial intelligence, or AI, refers to computer systems that can perform tasks usually done by humans. This includes things like understanding language, recognizing images, making decisions, and even creating new content.

Think of a smart assistant on your phone that can answer questions or a program that can suggest movies you might like. These are examples of AI working to make our lives easier or more interesting by mimicking human-like thinking and learning.

The expert version

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a broad field of computer science focused on creating systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. These tasks include learning from experience, adapting to new inputs, understanding complex data, reasoning, problem-solving, and perception.

Modern AI often relies on machine learning, particularly deep learning with neural networks, to identify patterns in vast datasets and make predictions or decisions. The development involves trade-offs between model complexity, computational resources, data requirements, and performance metrics like accuracy and latency.

Why it matters now

AI is a central topic as companies like Google Gemini and Anthropic integrate it into everyday tools and products, from automating tasks to powering on-device features. Concerns about AI's impact on jobs and the potential for misuse are also prominent, as seen in discussions around language control and internal safety issues at OpenAI.

Where it shows up 51 items, newest first
How each company uses it
Anthropic Claude
Anthropic is developing AI systems and discussing the changing nature of employment due to AI.
Google Gemini
Google Gemini is actively deploying AI, with mentions of on-device AI features and using Gemini to automate tasks.
OpenAI ChatGPT
OpenAI is involved in AI development, facing scrutiny over internal safety practices and the political implications of AI terminology.
xAI Grok
xAI's progress in AI is noted as a factor contributing to SpaceX's valuation and market impact.
Related terms

Machine LearningDeep LearningNeural NetworksLarge Language ModelsGenerative AIRobotics

Often confused with
Machine Learning
A subset of AI where systems learn from data without explicit
AGI
Artificial General Intelligence refers to AI with human-level cognitive abi
Automation
The use of technology to perform tasks with minimal human interventi
Origin

The term 'Artificial Intelligence' was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy for a workshop at Dartmouth College, considered the founding event of AI as a field. Source ↗

Try this about 5 minutes

Ask a frontier AI chatbot like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to write a short poem about a specific topic, like 'a cat watching rain'. This demonstrates its ability to understand prompts and generate creative text. Alternatively, ask it to explain a complex concept, such as 'quantum entanglement', in simple terms to see how it can process and rephrase information.

Try it: Playbook entries that use thisPlaybook →

The Playbook: reusable how-tos, prompts, configs and tips pulled out of the news.

Questions people ask

What's the difference between AI and a regular computer program?
Regular programs follow exact instructions. AI programs can learn from data, adapt, and make decisions or predictions, performing tasks that usually require human intelligence.
Can AI think like humans?
Current AI can mimic certain aspects of human intelligence, like learning and problem-solving, but it does not possess consciousness, emotions, or general understanding in the way humans do.

First seen on Subvolts Sep 3, 2019. Updated Oct 17, 2026. Written by an AI model from the items above and reviewed against them weekly; report an error.